Patriots rising star Keion White on pace to blow past NFL record in 2024

With so many questions surrounding the Patriots offense heading into the 2024 season, one thing seemed certain regarding the roster: the defense was going to still wreak havoc on opposing offenses, especially with Matthew Judon back in the lineup.

The loss of Christian Barmore for potentially the entire season was a significant blow after his productive year in Judon's absence last year, but because the 4-time pass rusher had tried to come back before season's end in 2023, he seemed more than ready to pick up where he left off for the Patriots this year.

It was the sliver of hope fans had for how New England would fare since the offense appeared improved but still questionable. However, that thought became in flux once it was announced that Judon was traded to the Falcons last month, seemingly destroying all confidence most had in the defense's dominance for the season ahead.

With Barmore and Judon gone, it put a lot of pressure on unproven players to step up in their absence, one of whom was Keion White.

The highly regarded defensive end had a forgettable rookie season in 2023, primarily due to the coaching staff's insistence he play out of position most of the year. It didn't bring out a lot of optimism about a second-year jump for White this fall, but he has quickly proven that he is not a concern through the first two games so far.

Keion White is becoming the most dominant aspect of the Patriots defensive effort this year

Although the pass rush could certainly improve, White's rise over the last two weeks has been impressive, to say the least. He was an undervalued prospect in last year's draft class, which benefitted the Patriots and allowed them to select him in the second round, and he's already proving he was the right choice.

In the season opener against the Bengals, he racked up four total tackles, two for a loss, three quarterback hits, and 2.5 sacks. In Sunday's matchup with the Seahawks, he added seven more combined tackles, one for a loss, two quarterback hits, and 1.5 sacks.

Based on his accomplishments thus far, White is on pace to record 34 sacks this season.

Although it's unlikely he will realistically total that many sacks, it's an incredible stat considering his lackluster rookie year. He couldn't have had a better start to the 2024 season if he tried, nor has what he's already done something that the wisest analyst could have predicted.

Fortunately, predictions don't hold much weight in the NFL world, and White is proving them all wrong and almost forcing fans to forget about Judon's departure, no matter how much of a favorite he was.

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